Mobile devices including smart technology features can be employed when authorized to identify the location of mobile device users. Given the desire to respect user privacy, mobile device location is typically only determined if a user provides consent therefor. Any authorized sharing of user location data is secure and private, and shared only if additional consent is provided. For many purposes, user identity associated with the location of a mobile device is configured in an anonymous manner such that user assistance and information related to a specific location is provided without a need for user-specific information.
When using a mobile device to determine a user's location, some known systems first use location sensors from a mobile device, such as global positioning system (GPS) outputs, wireless scan outputs, and accelerometer outputs, to obtain a best known estimate of a user's physical location (e.g., specific geographical coordinates.) These geographical coordinates can then be compared to a database of known places (e.g., local businesses) to infer the most likely semantic location of the user (e.g., the name of the venue, home or business). Accuracy of these techniques is often limited by the quality and accuracy of location sensors as well as the availability and quality of semantic place metadata.